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Delovlies – I was thinking that! And Ori is just the most adorable thing ever isn't he?

Sorrellkaren – That was probably the hardest thing about this series, keeping all the dwarves in character.

As he finished saddling up his pony Kili took another look at his quiver – checking to make sure he had enough arrows. Overnight there had been a thick snowstorm and the dwarves of Ered Luin had woken up to find their world covered in snow and ice. All at once panic had set in over being able to find enough food for the winter and with Yulemas so close such panic had been increased. It hadn't taken Fili and Kili long to decide that they should spend the next couple of days hunting. Admittedly it had taken a little longer trying to convince Thorin to let them go. Their uncle didn't doubt their ability to catch enough game. He was far more worried about reports the several Orcs scouts had been spotted close by and the last thing he and his family needed was to lose another member. However – after much debate – Thorin finally agreed. His nephews were the best hunters Ered Luin had and if anyone could bring back enough food to keep the people going it would be those two. Fili and Kili hadn't wasted anytime and the pair had run towards the stables to saddle up their ponies. Kili had been ready to go when Fili had to run back to fetch his best hunting knife. As he stroked his pony's mane Kili shook his head as he thought about Fili infinite number of knives. For as long as he could remember which was about 60 or so years, Fili had always had some form of weapon in his hand. In fact he owned so many it was no wonder he'd managed to forget about one. At the sound of footsteps Kili looked up expecting to see his brother hurrying towards him. However as he looked up to see two stocky dwarves with light brown hair and short beards his heart sank as the pair headed towards him.

"Cal. Hal." Kili said coolly. "What do you want?"

The two dwarves raised their eyebrows at him and Kili resisted the urge to roll his eyes; knowing full well why these two were here. Cal's mouth split into a smirk.

"Off hunting mongrel?" he said icily. Kili's eyes flashed at the insult but he forced himself to remain calm.

"I'm not a mongrel." He spat. Hal shrugged.

"How do we know?"

"Because both my parents were dwarves." Kili gripped his pony's reins tightly whilst the pair laughed.

"How could both your parents have been dwarves?" Hal inched closer to Kili.

"You're nothing like a dwarf."

"You're tall." Cal added. "And far too thin."

Kili looked down at himself whilst Hal tapped his fingers against Kili's bow.

"And who heard of a dwarf using a bow?" he whispered. Kili swallowed nervously whilst Cal stepped up to his other side.

"That's easy brother." He hissed. "He isn't able to use proper dwarf weapons so his uncle lumbered him with an elf's weapon."

"Figures." Hal said smoothly. "He does look more like an elf." He reached out to grab Kili's hair.

"Wonder if he's got pointy ears like an elf."

Kili grabbed Hal's hand in mid-air and twisted it sharply.

"I'm no elf!" he all but screamed. Cal and Hal looked at each other and no doubt they would have said more when the three of them heard Fili's shout behind them,

"Kili?"

Cal and Hal sighed before running off. Letting out a shaky breath Kili avoided his brother's gaze and mounted his pony. Fili followed his brother's actions before looking over.

"What did they want?" he whispered. Kili shook his head.

"Nothing." He clicked his teeth and as his pony began walking off Fili had to hurry up to avoid being left behind. As they left the outskirts of Ered Luin and began riding across the snow covered fields Kili tried to push the words from his mind. He knew both of his parents were dwarves. His mother had loved his father with all her might – she would never betray him like that. Besides; he and Fili were brothers. They were bound by blood and soul.

When they brought the ponies to a halt Fili began setting up snares whilst Kili scanned the area in the hope of catching sight of a deer or a wild boar. The harsh sunlight made him squint but it didn't take him long to catch sight of a young deer standing by a tree. As he brought his arrow to his cheek Kili took a deep breath before letting it fly. The deer fell to the ground and without wasting any more time Kili nocked another arrow before turning and watching it fly towards an even larger deer. As the animal gave a dying scream Kili said nothing when Fili clapped him on the back.

"Nice one Kee!" he grinned excitedly and hurried off towards the animals. Kili sighed before following. As he removed the arrows he watched Fili grab the bigger deer and drag it towards the ponies. Hurriedly wiping the blood on the snow Kili took hold of the other deer and hauled it backwards. His arms strained from the weight but he was determined not to let his brother see how much effort it was taking him. Fili said nothing as he tied a deer to each pony and Kili went to nock another arrow when Fili placed a hand on his arm.

"What's the matter Kee?" Fili whispered. Kili shook his head but he'd made the mistake of looking into Fili's eyes. As his brother gave him a pleading glance Kili rolled his eyes before moving over to sit down on a thick log by his pony. As he chucked his bow to the side Kili watched Fili sit down beside him and place an arm around his shoulders.

"What did Cal and Hal say this time?" Fili whispered softly. Kili bit his lip; ashamed at himself for letting the cruel words get to him. Over the past few years he'd found himself brushing off the comments that were sometimes hurled his way. But then he'd never been called a mongrel before. Running a hand through his un-braided hair Kili looked down at his feet.

"Just the usual stuff." He muttered. Fili held him close.

"I thought you'd learnt not to pay attention to those idiots?" he didn't sound annoyed at Kili who was still shaking his head.

"They said I was…" he broke off with a gulp. Not wanting Fili to know what people said about his little brother. However Fili's grip on his shoulder tightened.

"Kili…what did they say?"

"They called me a mongrel." Kili whispered. "They've never called me that before. It's always half breed or elf spawn."

As Fili cursed under his breath Kili didn't dare look at his older brother. He knew what would be going through Fili's head. Fili was Kili biggest defender; always ready to stand up for him or even fight those who picked on Kili. The fact that someone had called Kili a mongrel and he'd not been able to stop it would hurt Fili more than the actual insult.

Not wishing to see his brother upset Kili looked at the snow covered landscape around him and a smile slowly grew on his face.

"Come on Fee!" he pulled his brother to his feet before running off. Fili frowned but Kili bit down on his laugh as he grabbed a handful of snow and hit his brother in the stomach. Fili spluttered with laughter before throwing his own snowball – hitting Kili in the shoulder. It didn't take long for both brothers to forget their worries. Within minutes they were running around like dwarflings once again. Despite being the youngest Kili could see he was easily the winner of this fight and that alone pleased him that – for once – he was better than Fili at something.

"KILI!"

Kili looked up to see a blonde blur running towards him. As Fili knocked him to the ground Kili thought for one second they were being attacked. However he saw the glint in his brother's eyes and as Fili began tickling him Kili scrunched up his face in laughter.

"Stop it!" he rolled around. "Fili stop!" his voice was almost inaudible from the amount he was laughing. Fili sat back on his knees and gave Kili a warm smile.

"They're wrong to call you such things." He said; his voice full of seriousness. Kili nodded and sat up. Fili sighed.

"If those idiots actually stopped and thought about it they would know you were a true dwarf. Take it from me Kili, mum was always loyal to dad and would never…" he broke off and Kili nodded.

"I know she would never do that Fee." He slowly got to his feet.

"It's just hard to ignore their words sometimes." He looked down at his feet and Fili held him close.

"The only opinion of you that matters is your own." He said firmly. "That's the only one you should listen to."

"Don't you mind?" Kili asked in a small voice. Fili frowned at him and he looked over at his bow.

"Don't you mind me using a bow more than a sword?"

"Oh Kili!" Fili shook his head.

"Of course not. I'd be more bothered if you didn't have any means of protecting yourself. Besides," he grinned before looking over at the two deer.

"Cal and Hal would never have been able to take those deer out would they?"

Kili snorted. "Course not. They'd be blood everywhere and the deer would still escape."

Fili laughed before clapping Kili on the back.

"Exactly brother."

The day passed by quickly. Halfway through the afternoon Fili checked his snares and – satisfied with what they'd caught today – suggested that he and Kili head back to Ered Luin. Kili nodded happily; Cal and Hal's words almost gone from his mind. The ponies were laden with the kills and therefore both brothers were forced to walk. Fili was busy talking but Kili wasn't fully listening. Instead his eyes never left the surroundings and his ears were confident that they could hear something.

"Fili?" Kili leaned over to get his brothers attention. At first Fili didn't hear him and Kili bit his lip.

"Fili!"

Fili paused and frowned at Kili who shrugged.

"I thought I heard something." Kili admitted. Fili looked all around them before shaking his head.

"You're imagining things Kee."

Kili nodded when he heard a crackling sound beside him. Without even pausing he dropped the reins and fitted an arrow to his bow. He heard Fili draw his sword as an Orc ran towards them but Kili was already letting his arrow fly. The Orc stopped in his tracks as the arrow was lodged in its throat.

"We should get out of here." Fili muttered grimly. Kili nodded when he heard a snarl behind him. Spinning round he saw another Orc running towards him and he let another arrow fly. No sooner did that Orc fall than another two came into view. Dropping his bow Kili drew his sword and stood to stand against his brothers back as the pair faced their attackers. Working as a team they fought against the Orcs that were emerging from hiding. Fili used his twin blades whilst Kili's own sword did the job just as well. As more Orcs came the pair stepped away from each other in order to have more movement. Kili made short work of his own attackers – stabbing the last one in the back - and he was about to sheath his sword when he heard Fili yelling behind him. Kili's blood ran cold as he turned to see Fili fighting one Orc whilst another advanced behind him. Fili was too busy fighting to notice the new danger and for Kili there was only one course of action he would take. Screaming with anger he threw himself between the Orc and Fili. The Orc hissed at him but Kili threw up his blade to block to Orcs.

"Stay away from my brother!" he hissed. For a second he thought he might be able to hold the Orc off. Behind he heard Fili kill his attacker and only when the Orc give him a smile did Kili realise where'd he'd gone wrong. As the knife sunk just below his left hip the pain blossomed through his leg and he fell backwards.

"Kili!"

Fili's own sword plunged through the Orcs chest. But the blonde dwarf couldn't care less about that. Ignoring the bodies around him he knelt down beside Kili who was taking deep breaths.

"You saved my life!" Fili gasped. Kili shrugged as Fili shook his head.

"You could have been killed Kili! Don't ever do something like that again!"

Kili couldn't help but laugh. "The Orc was going to kill you Fee. What else could I do?"

Biting down on his remark Fili grabbed Kili round the waist and helped him to his feet. As Kili leant against the pony Fili looked at the knife wound.

"It's not too deep." He muttered. "Oin should be able to patch you up."

Kili nodded and began walking when Fili shook his head. Kili gave up protesting as his brother helped him onto one of the ponies before the pair began the long walk home.

When they arrived back in Ered Luin the pain in Kili's legs was becoming almost too much. Fortunately the first people they came across where Thorin and Oin. Instantly Fili ran towards his uncle.

"It's Kili!" he gasped. "He's hurt!"

Kili shook his head; trying to downplay his injury. Thorin was having none of it. The second Fili had helped Kili off his pony Oin took one look at Kili and ordered him to be taken straight to the healing house. Thorin nodded and before Kili could protest he scooped him up into his arms and followed Oin – leaving Fili to look after the ponies.

"It's nothing." Kili grumbled as Thorin laid him down on a bed and Oin began grabbing bandages and water. Thorin gave his nephew a warm smile before looking over at Oin.

"Will he be okay?"

The healer nodded as he cut away the material from Kili's trousers.

"It's not a deep wound. I just need to clean it and stich it. He'll heal in no time."

As Oin began his work Thorin tried to think of how best to distract Kili from the pain.

"What happened?" he held Kili's hand and noticed that although Kili seemed determined not to appear weak he didn't let go.

"We were attacked by Orcs." Kili wasn't sure why he was so calm.

"One was going to kill Fili and I tried to stop it." He bit his lip as he realised he hadn't actually succeeded. Fili had been the one to kill the Orc, not him.

"He saved my life uncle." Kili looked up to see Fili standing beside Thorin. The pride in his brother's eyes made Kili's heart soar for the moon and as Oin stepped away from the bed with a satisfied nod Kili gently prodded his stitched up wound. Fili bit down on his laughter whilst Oin threw his hands in the air – moaning about how his hard work would be wasted if Kili had his way.

"He won't be walking much." Oin looked over at Thorin who nodded. Kili pouted at this but Fili patted the top of his head before scooping him into his arms.

"Can't I at least walk home?" Kili pleaded – he didn't really want to be carried through the streets. Fili looked over at Oin who nodded. As Kili was set on his feet and leaned on Fili who pressed his forehead to Kili's.

"I love you so much sannadad." He whispered. Kili's eyes lit up in delight at what Fili had just called him. Fili hugged his brother close before the pair of them limped out into the streets together.

"It's certainly been one of the more interesting days." Kili commented dryly. Fili shook his head.

"Just…don't make a habit of it. Please?"

Kili winked at him. "I make no promises."

Translation

Sannadad – Perfect Brother

Aww! What better way to end this little festive series than with some Fili/Kili brotherly love? Hope this has been able to get people in the Christmas mood as well as cheer you p if you've seen BOFTA. Again sorry there was no Bombur story but I just couldn't get the idea to work Let me know what you think and above all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!